Intel has initiated pilot programs to examine a home health laptop, application, and database system able to put patients with chronic medical problems distantly in sync with their doctors.

The Intel Health Guide, which received FDA clearance in July 2008, includes a laptop for patients, as well as online interface for health care providers. Aetna, Scan Health Plan, Erickson Retirement Communities, and the Providence Medical Group in Oregon have each started trials in order to determine if the new machines can lead to improved results in treating diseases like heart failure, hypertension and diabetes.

"The power of this system is we can use it to see many more people on a daily basis and let seniors engage in their own health care," said Hank Osowski, senior vice president of corporate development for Scan Health Plan, a large Medicare administrator.
Each combination of hardware and software has to receive the approval of the Food and Drug Administration, said Eric Dishman, general manager and global director of product research and innovation.

This breakthrough is aimed to reducing medical costs for patients. Provided they will be treated at home, billions of dollars could be saved, Intel and the other computer-related companies said. Apart from this major advantage of the system, physicians could also be able to send their patients reminders and take their important signs, among other benefits. All these will be possible through an online connection to The Intel Health Guide, thus health care providers being able to program, administer, and monitor the system remotely. The health-care monitoring device will also allow patients make calls to social networks of patients suffering from similar diseases.

According to Julie Cherry, a registered gerontology nurse and director of product marketing for Intel, the innovative tool makes nurses be “more knowledgeable before they take action."

Intel, the largest semiconductor company worldwide, has been researching for years the needs of patients and health care providers and is currently on the verge of launching several products that will help extend care from medical facilities to patients’ home. These products will be designed for “an aging population and rising rates of chronic disease,” asserted Louis Burns, vice president and general manager of the Intel Digital Health Group.

"Health care is an area where getting and gathering the right information, and getting decisions made in a timely matter can make an enormous difference in patient care,” Mariah Scott, who heads sales and marketing for Intel Digital Health Group, said during an interview. “We hope this technology helps with that."

Intel also said that it has become associated with the Mayo Clinic and the American Heart Association, two major non-profit organizations in the U.S., in order to provide the application's clinical assessments, evidence-based treatment guidelines, as well as educational multimedia content.

Intel Corporation is known for making components that other companies assemble into systems. It makes network cards, motherboard chipsets, graphic chips, embedded processors, and many other such devices.